Setting up a plow correctly

[bulldog6276]

I have a mf135 and an old 2x14 (maybe 16) that my great grand paw gave my dad and he gave me. I’m trying to set the plow up so I can plow Thursday. And I’ll be honest I have no clue how to do it correctly. I can’t get the rear blade to touch the ground it just skates across the top and the big wheel just rolls behind it, any advice? Thanks so much in advance I’ve learned a lot here already.

 

[DanielW]

There's a lot to setting up a plow correctly: Getting the angle, lead, suck, cut width, etc. set up properly all take some work. But to start with, I notice two things:

i) That looks like one of those unusually long top links. I think you'll need to crank it in (shorter) for the plow to be angled down with the points forward.

ii) No coulters on that plow, which is going to make for some tough plowing of sod. Lots of folks took their coulters off when plowing long corn or wheat stubble as it would bind up on it, but it would be better to have them on for sod. With a light plow in heavy ground, it may want to just keep riding up.

Ground condition also makes a difference: If it's hard, dry clay, you may have to wait for the ground to soften up after a rain.

 

[bulldog6276]

There's a lot to setting up a plow correctly: Getting the angle, lead, suck, cut width, etc. set up properly all take some work. But to start with, I notice two things:

i) That looks like one of those unusually long top links. I think you'll need to crank it in (shorter) for the plow to be angled down with the points forward.

ii) No coulters on that plow, which is going to make for some tough plowing of sod. Lots of folks took their coulters off when plowing long corn or wheat stubble as it would bind up on it, but it would be better to have them on for sod. With a light plow in heavy ground, it may want to just keep riding up.

Ground condition also makes a difference: If it's hard, dry clay, you may have to wait for the ground to soften up after a rain.

Thank you I have no idea where the coulters would be for it, so I will shorten up the top link as much as possible

 

[flying belgian]

I have a mf135 and an old 2x14 (maybe 16) that my great grand paw gave my dad and he gave me. I’m trying to set the plow up so I can plow Thursday. And I’ll be honest I have no clue how to do it correctly. I can’t get the rear blade to touch the ground it just skates across the top and the big wheel just rolls behind it, any advice? Thanks so much in advance I’ve learned a lot here already.
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You need to shorten the top link. In hard ground it helps to take a grinder and sharpen the shares.

 

[connor9988]

I have a mf135 and an old 2x14 (maybe 16) that my great grand paw gave my dad and he gave me. I’m trying to set the plow up so I can plow Thursday. And I’ll be honest I have no clue how to do it correctly. I can’t get the rear blade to touch the ground it just skates across the top and the big wheel just rolls behind it, any advice? Thanks so much in advance I’ve learned a lot here already.
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I would recommend a hydraulic toplink if you have a spare remote outlet. Also, take apart the leveling crank on your lift arm and clean/grease it so you are not fighting it to get it level on the fly. You want the plow to be running level when it is in the ground plowing. Your desired depth up plowing should be between 5-7”.

Coulters would help you cut a nicer furrow slice but are not necessary. The guy plowing behind you may not be too pleased though.

If the points on your plow shares are shot it won’t go in the ground and plow worth a darn.

 

[jwal10]

If you lift the 3pt and lift by hand on the back of the plow, is there a lot of slop up and down. Need to tighten that up

How dull is the point.
How much suck does the share have, tip should be lower than the bottom of share and slope up, this draws the plow in the ground

Colters would help, need to be close to the left side of moldboard and close to bottom of furrow or at least 5" in the ground

For rough set, put both left side tires on a 6"x6" with tractor setting on a flat surface, plow should set level from front to back using top link, side to side by extending or shortening one of the 3pt adjustments. That should make plow level when right tire is in a 6" deep furrow. Use level to fine tune in the furrow, both front to back, side to side after a few rounds. My IHC tractor had the adjustment on the right 3pt arm and just counted the turns to know where to set back to plow use.

To start a land I plow 1 way and come back just far enough away from first furrow not to fill it. Don't worry about the first few rounds, you can slowly get it perfect after a few rounds. I always left that top link with the plow, just for plowing....James

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

jwal gave you good advice. I'll add that you should check the distance from the first plow to the inside of the right tire. Give it an inch more than the cut of the plows by shifting the rim on the center. You may have to switch sides to get there.

 

[connor9988]

I have a mf135 and an old 2x14 (maybe 16) that my great grand paw gave my dad and he gave me. I’m trying to set the plow up so I can plow Thursday. And I’ll be honest I have no clue how to do it correctly. I can’t get the rear blade to touch the ground it just skates across the top and the big wheel just rolls behind it, any advice? Thanks so much in advance I’ve learned a lot here already.
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[DeltaRed]

Another thing that may help. Set the left wheel on a 6x6. Then with the plpow an inch off the ground,useing leveling crank and top link,adjust till the plow is level. front to back,side to side.Tread width is important to get a full cut. You dont want over cut,or undercut.The condition of the share is very important. If they are worn,they will resemble a sled runner and not penetrate. As said,they must have 'suck'.Good luck! A finely tuned plow is a pleasure to use.A poorly tuned plow can be a nightmare.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Thank you I have no idea where the coulters would be for it, so I will shorten up the top link as much as possible

Coulters aren't absolutely necessary. They will create a cleaner furrow wall but that isn't what your main problem is here. In fact coulters can prevent the plow from penetrating harder ground, as they roll across the top of the ground like wheels instead of penetrating the ground.

Just blindly adjusting the top link may well make things worse.

It's hard to tell from the angle of the photos, but I would be surprised if the shares aren't worn down to the nub. You'll have to raise the plow up and look at them from behind to see if, and how much, they protrude past the edge of the frog (the framework that all the plow parts bolt to).

The final goal of adjusting the plow is to be level side-to-side, and front-to-back AT PLOWING DEPTH.

 

[jwal10]

Love to plow, my favorite was a 4240 PS hfwa and a 5-18" 1450 plow when I was farming. I had a real nice Farmall H and 2-16" #60 hyd plow to play with for a few years, it was a pleasure to plow with....James

 

[flying belgian]

Love to plow, my favorite was a 4240 PS hfwa and a 5-18" 1450 plow when I was farming. I had a real nice Farmall H and 2-16" #60 hyd plow to play with for a few years, it was a pleasure to plow with....James

Up until 10 years ago I was plowing 150 acres cornstalks/yr. JD 2800 4 bottom vari-width plow. Pulled it with Cat 35 plow opened up to 24 inches.
That was the Cadillac of plowing rigs.

 

[DanielW]

Up until 10 years ago I was plowing 150 acres cornstalks/yr. JD 2800 4 bottom vari-width plow. Pulled it with Cat 35 plow opened up to 24 inches.
That was the Cadillac of plowing rigs.

Holy smackerdoodles - 24" cut? You must have had to keep it at least a foot deep at all times to turn a furrow. I'll bet that was good for getting things turned it - no need for a sub-soiler at that depth. I'm envious.

Wish we could do that here. Every inch of extra plowing depth up here in the shield turns up about two weeks worth of additional stones to pick. If we can plow as shallow as 4" we do, just to not bring up as many stones.

 

[flying belgian]

Holy smackerdoodles - 24" cut? You must have had to keep it at least a foot deep at all times to turn a furrow. I'll bet that was good for getting things turned it - no need for a sub-soiler at that depth. I'm envious.

Wish we could do that here. Every inch of extra plowing depth up here in the shield turns up about two weeks worth of additional stones to pick. If we can plow as shallow as 4" we do, just to not bring up as many stones.

Plowed 7 to8 inches deep. Sometimes it wouldn't scour at that depth but mostly it would. Cat 35=210 hp. tracks 5 and half mph could cover lot of acres in a day.

 

[Farming guy 123]

Thank you I have no idea where the coulters would be for it, so I will shorten up the top link as much as possible

usually when you look from behind the right side 3pt arm is supposed to be 1 to 2 1/2 inches shorter so the plow is angled up in the right front.

 

[bulldog6276]

 

[bulldog6276]

So on my plow, I think one of the furrows is bent maybe? And I may be calling it by the wrong name. The part that is on the bottom of the plow on the face, if you look at it it’s at a different angle, I can’t get the back one into the dirt still, I set it up on a 6x6 got all my angles right as mentioned before, but still no go. Then I noticed it doesn’t match from front to back. Any ideas? Might buy a new one…

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

So on my plow, I think one of the furrows is bent maybe? And I may be calling it by the wrong name. The part that is on the bottom of the plow on the face, if you look at it it’s at a different angle, I can’t get the back one into the dirt still, I set it up on a 6x6 got all my angles right as mentioned before, but still no go. Then I noticed it doesn’t match from front to back. Any ideas? Might buy a new one…

I think I see what you mean, though your shadow is masking it to a degree. That is the share (we always called them points, but the correct term is share, an old english pronunciation of "shear" because it shears the ground), and it is not bent. The frog, the framework underneath, is what's bent if anything is bent.

A new frog for that plow will be more than the value of the entire plow if you can even get one. You'd money ahead finding another plow.

 

[bulldog6276]

I think I see what you mean, though your shadow is masking it to a degree. That is the share (we always called them points, but the correct term is share, an old english pronunciation of "shear" because it shears the ground), and it is not bent. The frog, the framework underneath, is what's bent if anything is bent.

A new frog for that plow will be more than the value of the entire plow if you can even get one. You'd money ahead finding another plow.

Thank you so much, Ima park this plow, it was my great grandpa’s, my buddy is gonna sell my a international 420 for 400 bucks that looks to be in super condition, he’s a farmer and I sent him a picture he thought that the plow I have is made from a bunch of random parts

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

I have a mf135 and an old 2x14 (maybe 16) that my great grand paw gave my dad and he gave me. I’m trying to set the plow up so I can plow Thursday. And I’ll be honest I have no clue how to do it correctly. I can’t get the rear blade to touch the ground it just skates across the top and the big wheel just rolls behind it, any advice? Thanks so much in advance I’ve learned a lot here already.
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Plow set up depends on the style you have. Plow parts are all the same but it is the CROSSSHAFT that changes on the different models. Yours is missing. You measure plow size width with tape measure from outside of frame to inside on other side. Looks like you have an old Ferguson-Sherman or Dearborn Moldboard Plow. The crosshaft is different on each and thus the setup is too. Note the Ferguson Plow crossshaft is offset and the Dearborn cross shaft is a straight bar. See if this helps:

Get the Ferguson Plow Manual too.

Tim Daley (MI)